Local police are warning Mainers about a scam targeting people selling items on the Internet site, Craigslist.

In this scam, a person selling a fairly expensive item is contacted by a scam artist posing as a buyer. They often text, using a disposable cell phone such as a Tracfone. They offer to pay full price for the item and say they will send a check and will pick the item up in the future.

When the check arrives, it is for an amount over the agreed-upon cost. The buyer will contact the seller with an excuse of why the check is so much higher. They ask if the seller can cash the check and return the difference to them.

The trick is the check is a fake, and once the “extra” money has been sent, the so-called buyer vanishes.

Local resident Michelle Bouchard was targeted for this scam with two different items she was selling, a propane heater and fyke net.

“In both cases I got a message really fast, like within 15 minutes of posting it,” Bouchard said. “I got a text, full price plus 50 dollars to hold the item until they could come get it. I thought it was a little strange that it wasn't a 207 area code.”

The total cost of the net would be $850. After receiving a $2,200 check, which the “buyer” claimed his secretary cut for too much, Bouchard took it to the bank to verify its authenticity on the advice of officer Larry Brown of the BHPD. Unsurprisingly, it was fake.

“The story didn't make any sense,” Bouchard said. “And who doesn't barter on Craigslist? Just offering full price like that was odd. And the same exact thing happened with the other item, too.”

Bouchard saw through the scam, but was concerned other people could fall victim to it.

“We usually get a call or two each week about this scam. A couple of years ago I had one where a local person, who rented out a summer cottage received travelers checks above the needed amount, which looked like the real thing. She brought them in and later I brought them to the bank, who was able to verify they were fake,” Brown said in an email to the Register.